Trans Terminus Homo
Easton City, Winterbloom's
Fyodor looked up to Misty, tilting his head slightly "What should I do now then?"
"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"
AKA Nixer
-Hideout-
Copy 3 walked up to them.
"Elizabeth, it isn't your fault. If Kosh hadn't been here, you wouldn't have done it, would you? He tricked you. It wasn't your fault."
Rine stood up, having been quiet.
"I've been thinking. If Kosh is this powerful, we may need more people on our side. He doesn't seem to be affected by physical attacks, but he was at least somewhat affected by Elizabeth's. I'm not saying she's not capable enough on her own, but if Kosh is this powerful... then we'll need all the help we can get."
bork
Schrodinger's Human
Streets:
"Another one of these villains that wants to conquer the world..."
"Maybe we can help you, Miss? This... dark sorceress might know somethig about the Sin Prince, so it won't hinder our progress."
Hideout:
Joseph opened his eyes. "Oh, so even the devil doesn't want a business with me. Wait, I'm alive? Then..."
He saw Elizabeth on her knees. Her expression only showed hollowness. Joseph also felt the same when he killed them: hollow.
"It is my fault... Kosh didn't trick me. He showed the truth. He... increased my existing hatred..."
Joseph stood up, approached her and hugged her.
"It's alright. I understand."
"Joseph, I'm so..."
"Don't be. I deserved it anyways..."
Joseph let go of her. "Kosh isn't a typical villain that can be beaten by force. And since he feeds on hatred, more people might not be a best option. Valan, Liz, what did you feel when Kosh was inside you?"
Everything that lives is designed to end.
GlUtToNoUs GiT
—(Streets)—
Chickening shuddered inwardly at the fish-man's words, but on the outside it only gave him a curt nod.
"Peachy. Thanks for the info." It let him go and walked to the others, the growling chickens forming a tight circle around the fish-man.
I do hope he's exaggerating.
"I say we turn this guy over to the authorities. Miss Siren, while I do not mean to downplay what you have demonstrated today and it pains me to postpone dealing with an evil sorceress, you should be brought somewhere safe first, where you can get fully accustomed to your abilites and are well-protected. I happen to know a place."
Chickening turned to the duo.
"As for your reservations, Mister Hawk, I assure you that I am not afraid to sacrifice myself for the protection of my town, if necessary. I appreciate your concern, but there is no need to worry about this chicken. On the matter of the mummy, my chickens have a read on it's location, so we should depart as soon as Miss Siren is in safe hands."
Something caught Chickening's eye. A young, brunette woman was leaning on a nearby building, and she was looking in their direction. It took a while, but soon Chickening recognised her.
Damn, they work fast.
Chickening raised one hand in a wave as it called out to her.
"Miss Sullivan! How very convenient."
FeEeEeEeEeD mEeEeEeEeE mY bLoG
Winterbloom's
Misty glanced outside, then turned back to Fyodor.
"C'mon. While we wait for your dad, I'll show you where Hazel keeps the really cool technically-illegal magic. Simon, why don't you stay here and make sure the store's safe?"
Streets
Sullivan approached the bird and the girl, chuckling.
"Convenience has nothing to do with it. My people have eyes and ears everywhere. Chickening, right? Your sibling mentioned you a few times."
She turned to Siren.
"And you must be Siren. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I can't say I know all that much about you, but I'm hoping to change that."
She offered the teenager her hand to shake.
For the Horde!
The fishman in Chickening's grasp glared at the costumed character, before being let go and surrounded by Chickening's followers. Tina looked behind her to see the woman, Miss Sullivan apparently, approaching them. She introduced herself and offered her hand to shake. She smiled sheepishly and moved her own hand to shake as well.
"Siren, yes," she explained. "I hear you represent... a place I can practice my powers in safety?" she asked quietly.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Winterbloom's
Simon saw Misty take Fyodor away. While on one hand, he was glad not to have to deal with either (though he knew it was just a matter of time) he realized that now he would have to finish cleaning up the store by himself.
Oh, well. Nobody else seemed to be in the mood. Papyrus was still there, but he didn't know what his deal was yet. Maybe he would at least tell him What the Hell happened while they were gone.
"So, um" he began, as he started picking up furniture and items, "care to tell me who wrecked the place?"
Alley near Platinum Casino
Agent Forsythe saw the thing that had been speaking to him fall down and could not help but take a step back: it was some kind of near-humanoid bug-wolf amalgam. Still, he did not panic; he was a well-trained TALOS agent. He was ready to shoot if necessary, though. But at the moment, they were in parley phase.
The creature did not attack. It continued to talk about wanting to join TALOS. Could it mean it?
Suddenly, the sound of running steps were heard. And rounding the corner, Agent Jones appeared.
"Parasite" Jones exclaimed, calmly but strongly. "I am Agent Jones. I'm in charge of TALOS' Field Operations. He approached slowly, confidently. "We know about your battle nearby. We know some of those you opposed, but not all. Most importantly, we do not know what that was all about... but we know that, at least originally, your kind were a danger to reality. You cannot blame us for being cautious. But, if you truly are sentient, then you have rights according to our laws. I am willing to talk... if you are."
edited 28th Apr '17 5:27:46 PM by Sijo
The Flamebringer
I somehow failed to notice that Eisendrachen got a response. Derp.
That was a plus.
All are significantly abnormal in a normal world... All are significantly normal in an abnormal world.
Casino
Umber closed in on herself, falling to her knees, clutching her head then. The woman was crumbling and Tethystra's spells seemed to be finally getting somewhere.
Lies! Lies!" Screamed some kind of feedback. She is faking now. She's finally broken free of your thrall and is luring you into a false sense of security!''
She isn't, she hasn't. Tethystra's double whammy was the one-two combo needed to start breaking through Umber's defenses.
Umber began shutting down her mind in an attempt to prevent Tethystra's from compromising her further. The TALOS super-agent fell into a stupor, out of the fight.
...
A purple light flashed up above.
"Surprise!" Amethyst cried. "Hi, I'm back!"
For the Horde!
Tethystra smirked wickedly as Umber, overwhelmed by Tethystra's dark power, slumped and fell into a stupor. She walked over to Umber and picked her up, but before she could begin to try and drain Umber's power for herself, she saw a bright purple flash above her. She looked up and saw the outrageously-dressed young man with purple crystals all over his body. She smirked coyly up at him.
"Hello there, darling," she replied. "I don't think we've met, but I don't have time for introductions. I do apologize, but I'm rather busy at the moment. Why don't you go have a bit of fun at the slot machines, handsome?" she asked Amethyst with magic in her voice.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Casino
Amethyst had managed to pilfer his cowboy costume, showing off as much chest as possible with purple crystals growing out of his chakras, save the base chakra. He clutched his head and grimaced.
"Ow, I felt that-"
It seemed Umber hadn't been the only one with mental defenses, but this one was more proactive. Something alive and alien inhabited the young man, and it unfurled immediately at her telepathic touch. It lashed out through the channels she created for as long as they were there, not through suggestions or manipulation but simple, biting pain and disruption.
"-and I bet you did too."
Trans Terminus Homo
Easton City, Winterbloom's
Fyodor nodded happily and made big eyes as Misty said that. "Yay~ Yes please show me~" Fyodor hopped a bit excited, obviously liking the idea. The ravens currently in the store cawed, seemingly also calming down again.
"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"
Blood Mage Apologist
Easton Shipyard
Sebastian shook as the pulse arced into him, and threw him backwards. His (now even more) charred flesh still smoking, he lay on the ground for a few moments... before standing right back up and shadow-walking right back to the top of the building.
"Interesting. I suppose that if my heart doesn't beat, you can't stop it," he mused. "Granted, electricity does tend to damage tissue. So I suppose that with a powerful enough electric weapon, you could seriously damage my body."
He seemed to have forgotten she was there for a moment, before looking at her and grinning. "Well, nice to meet you. I suppose I'll see you later. I invite you to spar with me at a later date- I'm a bit drained at the moment." With that, he started to walk away.
Alley near Platinum Casino
Val'ark waved a claw a kind of, "oh, you" gesture. "We were dangerous for as long as Roken was directing us to feed on your reality. While we do subsist on dimensional tears, we don't need nearly as much energy as our feeding frenzies would lead you to believe. Conquering and destroying dimensions wasn't our goal. Until now, very few of us actually had sentience."
"As for what it was about," he continued, "that is a somewhat touchy subject, and a long one indeed. The basic, quick version is that Rine Anok killed my father." He snarled, taking a deep breath.
"I did... not take it very well. I went what you humans might call "berserk." I named myself the New Emperor, and I skyrocketed in power." He flashed them an amused grin. "Not unlike what some of you humans have done, if human media is to be believed."
The parasite sat down, and crossed his legs in an awkward looking pose.
"And of course I'm willing to talk. I approached your agent here peacefully, did I not? I'm a predator by nature, not a monster. I don't hurt people without cause. If you have footage of the battle, I'm sure you can recall that I ordered my soldiers to avoid civilians and other humans," he pointed out.
edited 29th Apr '17 9:25:01 AM by Cwest5538
Wooze looks at Glass with a 'please take her away' look
Streets
Sullivan nodded. "That's right. I know a place where we can talk in private. It's the only restaurant in town where I can get raw meat. Chickening, you're free to come along."
Winterbloom's
Hazel followed Papyrus in, arms crossed.
"The wards didn't keep you out. Unless I did something wrong, that means you don't mean me or Misty or Simon or the boy harm. And you don't strike me as smart enough to find a way to bypass it. If it turns out that I'm wrong, and you do anything to hurt us, I'll send you to a dimension of nothing but scissors. Understand?"
Winterbloom's
"Don't get the wrong impression about Hazel" Simon quickly interjected. "She needs to work on her people skills, but she isn't too bad." Actually he had no idea if she could carry out her threat - or if she would- but he felt that, as usual, he had to be the Grown Up in the room.
"Haze, why don't you go drink something- nonalcoholic. And- Papyrus, was it? How about giving me a hand setting everything back in place? if you want of course."
Alley
Surprisingly, Jones smiled. He might sound like a loose canon at times, but he honestly preferred diplomacy.
"Very well, let's talk."
Meanwhile, Agent Forsythe's comm was still active, and everything they said was being received, recorded and analysed by TALOS, who were already sending specialized agents to the place, with orders not to interfere until necessary (again, these people are pros.)
"First of all" Jones began, "we do not know about this Rine fellow. We were under the impression your Emperor was eaten by one of your own- a giant snake? The footage from your battle is still under analysis by the way, so there is much we don't know yet. As a token of good will, how about providing us with more detail on the battle? Again, you can't blame us for being too careful. Wouldn't you be, in our place?"
edited 29th Apr '17 5:46:36 PM by Sijo
For the Horde!
Tina nodded gently, looking a bit perturbed at her mention of Sullivan ordering raw meat, but she shook her head.
"Uh... raw meat? Never mind, I'm not sure I want to know. Uh, sure, let's go then," she told Sullivan, then looked back at the chicken-costumed individual. "You're welcome to come Mr. Chicken, uh, Chickening." She looked back at the vampire and the werewolf. "You two are welcome to come as well if you want, though I imagine you must be busy with the mummy.... and uh, the demon lords..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Blood Mage Apologist
Alleyway
Val'ark snorted. "I understand the comparison, but it is rather hard to put myself in your shoes, as you humans tend to say. But regardless of the differences in our idioms, I will oblige you. Please forgive me if I seem a bit... angry... as I recount events."
He snorted, taking another deep breath. "Roken is... was... the closest thing I've ever had to a father. I served him faithfully for many, many years, and his death is truly a tragedy, even with his evil intentions."
The parasite sighed, and continued. "Basically, most parasites don't have the same range of thought and emotion as we do. But over time, we began to develop into our own conciousness, and become separate, somewhat-rational people."
"This is what happened to a good portion of our army. Roken was betrayed by Reginald- his giant snake parasite- but he survived," he explained.
"Later on, me and him reunited, but he became possessed by Rine's consciousness- don't ask, even I don't know how." The parasite snarled, and grabbed a nearby brick, crushing it into powder. It was better than crushing something living, after all. "And then... he died."
"I regained lost memories, and became rather... powerful. And very, very angry. There, I led my troops in a battle against Rine's minions- and we would have won, had he not relied on outside allies," he growled. "I shall tear the flesh from his bones and feast upon his innards!"
Than he realized that he had human company. "I... apologize. The wound is still rather... fresh."
Wooze looks at Glass with a 'please take her away' look
In love with an Uptown Girl
Papyrus sighed. He could understand if Hazel didn't trust him. But right now, he was tired. "Can I just get a place to sleep?"
Please allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of wealth and taste. Nice to meet you, hope you can guess my name.
AKA Nixer
-Easton City Streets-
The attack through the portal had killed all of the Parasites.
Except for one.
This one was the same one that had stabbed Roken through the heart.
The bestial one.
It was looking for its comrades, but to no avail. There was nothing left.
It would be cruel not to put it out of its misery.
So that's what Vigour did.
The black cape fluttered in the wind as he ran towards his opponent...
The Parasite never saw it coming.
He punched it.
There was a brief delay, as nature itself had a small panic attack on how to respond.
Then it exploded.
Vigour's strength was not something to sneeze at. Plus his knowledge of pressure points apparently translated into deformed shadowy beasts.
As quickly as he arrived, he ran off.
This was a pattern of crime fighting that he had been doing for a few weeks now.
Nobody even knew who he was.
edited 30th Apr '17 2:26:37 AM by Enirboreh
bork
Mc Gruder's Meats
The place Sullivan had in mind turned out to be a small deli on Kipling Street.
"I represent a school for remarkable individuals like yourself," Sullivan said as she cut through her venison. "We have a curriculum equivalent to the best schools in the country, not to mention classes specifically designed to help you harness your abilities. And due to our location, you'll be safe from the assorted supervillains who tend to target individuals like yourself." She popped a bite in her mouth. "Any questions?"
Winterbloom's
"Upstairs, to the right. Pleasant dreams."
Hazel paused. She'd already potentially driven away Misty. No reason to do the same to Simon.
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll keep my mouth shut while I work."
She gestured zipping her lips and went back to cleaning up.
Schrodinger's Human
Streets:
"Yeah. We can't come along with you right now. Goodbye".
"Have a nice day."
They left Tina to another place. "That person said about school, right? Ms. should be safe there..."
"You're so worried about her, I'm surprised you didn't agree to go along."
"I don't think we can even be there..."
Hideout:
"Kosh talked to me, persuaded me to give in to hatred. He left... something and that made me... act like this."
Joseph sat. "Do any of you someone with holy magic? That might be the only way to defeat that demon."
edited 2nd May '17 6:46:30 PM by kaalban
Everything that lives is designed to end.
Art Gallery
Jeanne did not leave until she made sure everyone in the gallery had recovered from Ni's influence.
She then exited, but could neither see nor sense her.
She did however, felt another demonic presence not far away. It was a different Sin, though.
Hate.
She began walking, trying to zero in on the emanations, but it wasn't easy in a city of millions.
She also couldn't avoid smiling at all the technological wonders that had appeared since she had left. In particular, a flying vehicle resembling a dragonfly (a helicopter) flew overhead, and she could not help but hope to pilot one of those, some day.
For the Horde!
Tina sat down and got a sandwich with ham and lettuce. As she was eating, she listened to what Sullivan was saying. She nodded a couple times taking in the explanation. When she asked if she had any questions, she nodded.
"I have a few. First of all, is there going to be, uh... access to water? And uh, sea life?" she asked. "I've always liked sea creatures. Plus, my powers sort of.... revolve around water, I guess. Also, am I going to be safe from this... powerful sorceress the fish guy was talking about?" she asked.
At once, Tethystra's mind was assaulted and she felt a sharp pain breaking her concentration. She reeled back, clutching her own head. She looked back and glared at the gaudily-dressed young man.
"You insolent child!" Tethystra shouted, tossing Umbra to the ground. "I will make you pay for your disrespect!" As she stood there, she raised her arms, her voice reaching a fever pitch as water began to materialize and swirl around her in a vortex. Then, she gestured with her arm, her song changing once more as water began to flow towards Amethyst, tendrils of water lashing out at him.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Casino
Amethyst dropped towards a crouch in midair, disappearing in a purple blur mid-crouch. A woosh of air next to Tethystra heralded his exit point as much as a purple flash, where he appeared right next to her on the ground, grabbing a hold of Umber-
"Ha ha, you look so stupid."
-before he disappeared a second time in as many seconds with her in tow.
He reappeared among the line of TALOS agent, standing up and dismissively tossing the agent into one of her coworkers, "Here."
"OW, fuck man!"
"So, like, do you guys want me to fight this chick or do you got a plan? I hope I just didn't ruin in nabbing blondie there."
Hideout:
"I'm sorry..." She ran up to Valan and healed him. The golden light closed Valan's physical wounds. "I..." She choked on her words. Elizabeth... couldn't say anything.
She had no one to blame but herself. At least, she thought that way.
Everything that lives is designed to end.